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Oct 4, 2012 at 6:00 AM

VATICAN CITY — An Italian man gave up his protest atop the St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday evening, after more than 24 hours perched on the 426-foot high dome to demonstrate against government reforms.

Two firefighters helped pull Marcello De Finizio inside the basilica a full day after he had eluded Vatican security to scale the dome and unfurl a banner reading: “Help! Enough Monti!” — referring to President Mario Monti, the architect of Italy’s economic reforms.

De Finizio was taken directly to the Rome police station, but told The Associated Press by cellphone that it was a “formality” and he did not expect to face any charges.

It was the second time in three months that De Finizio had scaled the dome. His previous protest at St. Peter’s in July lasted only four hours, he said, and nothing came of it.

De Finizio said he did not suffer any particular discomfort during the latest protest, which he ended after Tourism Minister Piero Gnudi agreed to meet with a delegation of beach concession owners to discuss new rules governing the sector.

At issue are government reforms that will force an open bidding process for existing establishments and limit the length of the licenses.

NACO, Ariz. — Investigators were scouring a rugged area near the U.S.-Mexico line looking for evidence in the fatal shooting of a Border Patrol agent.

Nicholas Ivie and a colleague were on patrol in the desert near Naco, about 100 miles from Tucson, when gunfire broke out shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Border Patrol.

Ivie, 30, was killed. The other agent, whose name hasn’t been released, was released from the hospital after being shot in the ankle and buttocks.

It was the first fatal shooting of an agent since a deadly 2010 firefight with Mexican bandits that spawned congressional probes of a botched government gun-smuggling investigation.

No arrests have been made. Authorities suspect that more than one person fired at the agents.

No weapons have been found, according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration wants an American imprisoned in Cuba to see his personal physician amid concerns he may have a cancerous growth on his shoulder.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Maryland native Alan Gross should be released. Short of that, she said Gross should be allowed to see a U.S. doctor.

Gross, 63, has been in prison since 2009. He was a U.S. government subcontractor when he was arrested for bringing illegal communications equipment into the country. His case has become a thorn in U.S.-Cuba relations.

Cuba says Gross’ health is normal.

But an American physician who reviewed medical records sent by Cuba says Gross may have a cancerous growth. Radiologist Dr. Alan A. Cohen believes the mass appeared months ago and must be presumed cancerous unless proven harmless.

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge who found Iran, the Taliban and al-Qaida culpable in the 2001 terrorist attacks has approved a $6 billion default judgment against them.

The order signed Wednesday by Judge George Daniels is largely symbolic, but it provides some hope the relatives of Sept. 11 victims can someday recover damages.

A federal magistrate judge recommended the damages over the summer.

Daniels last year signed a default judgment pertaining to a lawsuit brought by relatives of 47 victims. He found al-Qaida, the Taliban and Iran liable and asked the magistrate to determine damages. He said support the defendants provided to al-Qaida enabled the terror attacks.

Iran’s president has repeatedly denied any Iranian connection to the Sept. 11 attacks or to al-Qaida.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Hogle Zoo has a new resident: a baby giraffe.

The zoo said the 6-foot bundle of leggy joy was born Sept. 23, and mom and baby girl are doing great. They spent the past week bonding and were displayed to the public in the giraffe yard for the first time Wednesday.

Hogle Zoo has displayed giraffes since 1969 and has had 16 successful giraffe births.

The baby giraffe’s mother is 9-year-old Kipenzi, who also gave birth in 2009 to Jamar, a male giraffe that died eight months later.

The new baby’s father, Riley, was sent to the Oregon Zoo a few months ago due to limited space while construction begins on the zoo’s African Savanna.

Riley will return to Hogle Zoo after completion of that exhibit in 2014.

CHICAGO — Chicago police are busy chopping down 6- to 8-foot tall marijuana plants that they found growing on a chunk of land the size of two football fields on the city’s far South Side.

Officers on routine patrol in a police helicopter spotted the crop Tuesday under a canopy of trees about 3 miles from their hangar.

Police said Wednesday that the 1,000 or so plants had been days or weeks from being harvested. Once packaged, the crop could have been worth as much as $10 million. Authorities say it will take a few days to remove all the plants.

Police typically try to intercept shipments of marijuana grown elsewhere. But they say they’ve never seen such a large illegal agricultural enterprise, largely because there isn’t enough room in the city.

LONDON — In a remote fishing town on the tip of Scotland’s Black Isle, the last native speaker of the Cromarty dialect has died, taking with him another little piece of the English linguistic mosaic.

Scottish academics said Wednesday that Bobby Hogg, who passed away last week at age 92, was the last person fluent in the dialect once common in the seaside town of Cromarty, about 175 miles north of Scottish capital Edinburgh.

The Biblically-influenced speech — complete with “thee” and “thou” — is one of many fading dialects which have been snuffed out across the British Isles.

Across the world, regional languages and dialects have disappeared as rural populations move to urban areas and compulsory education and mass media combine to iron out the kinks in local speech.

From Associated Press reports

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